The joint opposition said yesterday people should stop paying taxes to the government, if it continues with its move to pay compensation to ex-LTTE combatants.

JO member and MP Wimal Weerawansa told a news conference that no country in the world had ever paid compensation to ex-terrorists unlike what Sri Lanka was attempting to do and added that such moves would not contribute towards reconciliation.

He said the government was hoping to pay compensation to ex-LTTE combatants by using tax payers money saying Sri Lanka will be the first in the world to pay compensation to terrorists.

“The compensation will not be paid by using the money of government bigwigs. Compensation has still not been paid to the victims of the Meethotamulla garbage dump tragedy and the explosion at the army camp at Salawa. Then, why is the government trying to compensate terrorists who tried to destroy our country,” the MP asked. “If the government is attempting to compensate the terrorists who struggled for Tamil Eelam, we are forced to consider the President and the Prime Minister as separatists.”

Meanwhile, MP Mahindananda Aluthgamage said this proposal which had been made to the Cabinet was not a proposal made by Minister D.M. Swaminathan on his own, but a proposal made by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in an attempt to gain more votes from the Northern people at the upcoming presidential election. (Kalathma Jayawardhane)